Cursed
by Fangirl-Who-Falls-A-Lot
Summary: Bella. Let me explain. Xena had two daughters instead of one. Bella, Solan and Eve. Her children all had a curse. Eve had the curse of evil for twenty five years. Solan was doomed to die and Bella, Bella was cursed with seeing everything she knew die, burn or disappear forever. So this is the story of the new Warrior Princess, in Camelot. Of all places.
1. Bella The Warrior Princess

Name: Bella

Age: 18

Mom: (deceased) Xena The Warrior Princess

Father: Ares, God of War (deceased)

. /myth...

Sibling(s): Solan and Eve (both deceased)

12342358 (Eve in both pictures in the link)

. /herc... (Solan)

Pets: Argo the 2nd, her horse

Species: DemiGod

Powers: Blasting people back, shooting balls of red lights at people (she has no idea what to call it) and Telekinesis

Skills/Talents: killing, riding horses, fishing, strategic thinking

Weapons: Dagger, Xena's sword and chakram

todds_chakram_pic

Hair: black, a little past shoulder length and has a natural wave

Eyes: Amber Brown

Height: 5'4

Personality: stiff, cold to strangers, incredibly guarded, distant, spirit of a warrior

Likes: Argo 2, fishing

Dislikes: fighting, bad guys, gods

Hobbies: riding Argo and fighting

Relationships: none of the kind

Friends: Autalycous, Aphrodite, Vergal, Hercules, Ioulas, Nebula, Sisyphus, Queen Pandora, Orion, Eli, Meg, Tara, Octavos and Emphiny (all dead)

Best Friends: Gabriel and Joxer(all dead)

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Main Enemies: Ares (sometimes), Dahak and the picture is Callisto

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Bio: My name is Bella. Now I'll never be able to tell the full story but just listen into the confusion. I grew up with my mother, Xena the Warrior Princess. She was a warlord. We killed thousands. With my father's help. But of course he didn't know I was half god, or his daughter.

When I was eight my mom had a change of heart. We started doing good. We met Gabriel. She became known as the Queen of the Amazons. So many adventures. But in truth, I started resenting everyone. Why did I have to go through all this? Because every other day I killed someone. Every other week we had some big monster or bad guys to destroy, some village to protect.

No one can imagine what I've seen. Hell, the first time I killed someone was when I was five. Dagger to the neck. Some innocent man from a village. I never really looked back. Didn't cry either.

I learned I had a little brother, Solan. But after a couple years, things started getting really strange for us. Dahak, a god possessed Gabriel's baby girl. Grew up to kill Solan. I hate Hope. That's her daughter's name. How unfitting. She even allied herself with my least favorite person in the world, the once human Callisto. Callisto and I have a history. I killed her when Hope died. Callisto was a goddess and tried to kill Mom and I. That never works. Now I was really spiteful and bitter to the gods.

Eli, taught that you had to love everything. Mom and Gabriel tried to believe. But then Mom had a daughter herself. The bringer of twilight everyone said. Destroyer of the Gods. At least someone will get rid of them.

But every Olympian god tried to kill us. Even my no good father. Mom came up with this plan to save my sister, Eve. We gave her to Roman general, Octavos. Then pretended Eve's and our death. We used some sleeping drafts. I guess Ares came and saw us dead, mourned and put us in ice coffins in Mt Etna. Great.

The sleeping drafts were enhanced by the ice, so we were in a ageless sleep. For twenty five years.

My first thought when we found out was, _that means everyone we know is either dead, or too old to travel far._ We truly were alone.

But we found Joxer, out best friend. He was old and had a son our age named Vergal. We then traveled to Rome to find Eve.

But to our horror, she was now Livia, the bitch of Rome. Killer of the followers of Eli. Killer of the Amazons. Of all people.

She went into a rage when Mom told her we were her family. Killed more. Blamed it on Mom and I. There's still blood there. She killed Joxer. I tried to kill her when that happened. I'm not proud.

But at a Eli temple out prayers were answered. Eli showed Livia the memories of us defending and caring for her when she was a baby.

I still remember that happy moment.

Battle was raging around us.

"Livia? Livia!?", I looked at her. What would she do? Mom got up from the ground and turned to her, hope on her face as well as mine.

"My name is Eve"

That's what memory I hold onto about my sister.

Well, the gods came after us. But the archangel Michael along with the newly blessed Callisto gave me the ability to kill gods. So they didn't last long, accept Ares and our friend, Aphrodite.

She became the leader of the followers of Eli.

But the odd peacefulness inside us was about to end. We still had many wars and stuff, but we were happy. Then Mom died on the battlefield. Gabriel went after her, she didn't last long.

So I traveled, mourning cut short to deliver the news to Aphrodite, Ares and Eve. They were dead. Eve got attacked by not so friendly bandits. Didn't make it because of her stupid beliefs.

And in my absence Aphrodite got sucked into a lot of trouble, someone managed to kill her. And Ares, in a rage for the people that killed his sister charged right into his doom.

I didn't make the same mistake though, I destroyed every person that had harmed my family. Then I came to a realization.

I was truly and utterly alone. I never even was able to say goodbye. So I took my Mom's chakram and sword. Now I was the new generation. I was Bella the Warrior Princess.


	2. Fun

It was a year since they all died. Since I took Argo and Mom's weapons. Since my world crashed down. It still hurts terribly.

I knew what Mom would have wanted me to do. Settle down, stay out of trouble. But I decided to ignore that. I'm doing what I did for ten years.

Wander, go around doing good deeds. Someone has to. And let me tell you, it's just like old times. But that only makes the loneliness worse.

Right now I was heading to Camelot, I need supplies and a good blacksmith for Argo. Poor thing. He's really the only family I have left. A horse. That's just sad. Memories start to surface.

 _*Mom holds out the sword. Gabriel watches with a little too much enthusiasm as Xena twirls the blade easily._

 _"The first time you pick up a sword you become a target. The moment you kill, everything changes. Everything", I inwardly wince. I may be eight but I knew what Mom meant. Don't kill, you'll become a monster. A murderer._

 _Like me.*_

 _*"Are you sure this is the right thing? If I get my dark side back, I'll hurt people", Mom looks desperately at Gabriel and I. We had tried to figure out why she didn't remember anything violent._

 _Now we knew how to get it back. But she wasn't sure whether it was a good idea. In truth, I envied her. Maybe Eli didn't make a mistake, maybe it was a second chance for Mom. But why didn't I get one too? Did a 15 year old not get the same chances?_

 _"It doesn't matter. What about the people who do hurt others? Without your dark side you leave the best part of you defenseless", Gabriel wisely encourages. When did she become so damn... Right?*_

 _*"Thank you for everything, but I think I'll leave when I run out of chickens", Ares says. I look around the farm. Gabriel sits on her horse watching Xena talk to my father._

 _"You know, maybe you should stay", Mom says. I mean, we did help you when the warlords were after your now mortal ass._

 _"You might find a certain peace you can't find once you leave", Mom continues. I nod and step away from the pair, heading pack to our horses._

 _"Yeah maybe...", the rest was lost as I walked out of hearing distant._

 _"Good boy", I turn to see Mom pat Ares playfully and walk to Argo. Ah, look like someone was rejected. Again. I slightly smirk at Ares._

 _Time to leave the farm._

 _So we leave behind Ares, his dog and Xena's childhood memories at Moms old farm...*_

I look up. It was starting to get dark. Another day's ride to Camelot if I want to make sure Argo isn't hurting. So no galloping. Dammit.

I set up camp a ways from the road. I don't particularly care if bandits attack. They would be dead meat. Literally.

"Hello?", I look up. A traveler looking for food probably. I was right. A boy my age came into view. He had black hair and from the firelight, looked to be golden eyes. That means a light color, maybe blue?

"Yes, need help?", I decide to be more friendly. No good comes from pushing people away. Just means it's your fault they left. I make sure that if I'm alone, it's not because of me. It's everybody else's fault. I'm not exactly an optimistic person.

So that's how I had a someone to share dinner with. His name was Merlin. Hmm. Interesting name.

Turns out Merlin had the same destination, so he decided to stick with me. If it weren't for his weird honest and innocent personality I would have thought it was just because I had food. But like I said, he had this weird vibe. Magical. He's a warlock, I can tell. Very powerful, but doesn't know it.

"Do you know when we'll get there?", Merlin certainly talks a lot. He seriously reminds me of Gabriel before she started fighting like us. Innocent and pure. Never killed anyone, not like me.

I look up. It's about 9am. Hmm.

"We'll be in Camelot by 12am if we keep this pace, should be easy", Merlin glances at me. He looks a little surprised. Why?

"Keep this pace? For that long? How?", OK. Maybe we were going a little fast. Well, to normal people. But I have a Demigods stamina and I've traveled all my life.

"Sorry, I'm used to it. We can slow down. We'll be there around 2pm", I state casually. I slow down. Now I feel like I'm a slug or something.

"Travel a lot? What about your family?", he looks at me quiz-idly. I shrug.

"Traveled since I was eight. I wasn't on my own till a year ago", I left the rest to be not said. Merlin didn't need to know, plus I don't fully trust him yet. I've spent too much time with the Amazons. Ha, that is really the only place I feel at home now. Maybe I should visit.

"Do you just wander or are you going somewhere?", Merlin cuts me out of my thoughts. Well, at least he didn't question my being alone. He can probably guess I can take of myself. I have my chakram and dagger strapped to my hip. And my sword is in its sheath on Argo.

"Both. I have places to be sometimes. Other times, I just go where the wind takes me", I reply smoothly. It's true.

"Sounds nice. To be by yourself. All that freedom. To do whatever you want", I glance at him. Of course, with magic it must be hard. Especially now that he's heading to Camelot of all places.

"It's also very lonely", I say and stare at the horizon. We're close. Just a couple hours.

"Maybe", Merlin is still caught up in magical dreamland. Hmm. Oh well, we learn from our mistakes. Hell, is that true.

"So why are you heading to Camelot?", I ask trying to change topics. Get his mind out of the clouds. That's always dangerous.

"My mother sent me to live with the court physician. There's a... Need", he couldn't stay because of his magic. So his mother's solution is to send him to the place where magic is a crime. That's a _great_ idea.

But I just make a thoughtful noise and nod.

Then on it's just small talk, but it's fun having company again.

Fun. Almost forgot what that was.


	3. A Dream

(AN- FYI Callisto is a very important character, though it may not appear that way now)

Camelot loomed in front of us. Kind of reminds me of Troy. What a war that was. It was also weird fighting against Greece, though I really don't have any loyalties anywhere. At least not anymore. Except the Amazons.

Merlin and I head into the citadel where a crowd was gathered. An execution. A man was pulled forward to the chopping block.

On the balcony above a man comes out. The King.

"Here is a sorcerer", I don't hear the rest. _Sorcerer! That's all he has done! This isn't right!_

"I have to stop this", I take a step forward before Merlin grabs me.

"You can't! They'll just arrest you! And probably kill you too!", dammit, he's right. And alone there's no way I can do it. Again, dammit!

"Fine. But this isn't right", Merlin stares for a second then nods. Must be thinking about how he would be in this situation. He has my pity.

The ax swings high in the air, then slices off that poor mans head.

A cry of anguish rises from the crowd. Oh no. A elderly woman steps out.

"There is only one evil in this land and it is not magic, it is you Uther Pendragon! That was my son! Now you will feel my grief. AN eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, **a son for a son!** ", she trembles in grief and anger.

"Guards, seize her!", Uther points his gloved finger at the women.

She grabs her necklace, whispers some spells and vanishes in a gust of wind. Wow.

"Let's go", I grab the hem of Merlin's jacket sleeve and lead him away. Best to get his mind off it.

"Let's go find that physician", we ask around and head to the chamber after putting Argo in the stables with the blacksmith.

In the Court Physician's chambers, or Giaus I guess, it is cluttered in scrolls and plant like debris. It smells of the forest and of parchment. All in all, it makes me somewhat homesick. Or travel-sick, if that's a thing.

"Hello? Hello?", Merlin looked around.

Suddenly, a old man was found on the top of a staircase, he leaned on the railing, braking it. He was about to plunge to his death when he froze in mid air. Merlin then turned to a bed and moved it without saying a word to under the man. He unfroze and fell into the bed.

I looked at Merlin with a raised eyebrow. He just looked slightly panicked.

"What was that!", the old man, who I'm guessing is Giaus burst out.

"I believe that was magic", I turn to Merlin. He's on the verge of a panic attack, I know it.

"Impressive, you'll have to explain later. But now I have to go take care of Argo", I turn and stride out. Well, that was interesting.

I need to check into the tavern.

 _*I opened my eyes. The first thing I noticed was I was wearing some pretty revealing white drapery thingy. Ugh._

 _Then I noticed I was on a slab of rock, towering over a very dark bottom. Next, I noticed Mom and Gabriel in similar clothes looking around as well._

 _Finally, I remember that I was dead. Yeah, Caesar attacked us. Gabriel and I went on a full on killing spree to save Mom. Then the Romans captured us._

 _They nailed us to crosses. Oh gods. I'm dead, really dead._

 _Out of the blue, some weird light symbol appeared in the sky. Then freakin angels came down. Angels. Is every religion real? Huh? 'Cause I'm not fighting God. I'm not._

 _They came toward us. Gabriel stepped forward and let them pull her away. Huh._

 _"It's okay", Mom mutters to me. Then accepts the arms. So I do too. This is so weird. They have white fluffy wings and everything._

 _For a minute I feel at... Peace, before I hear a hauntingly familiar screech. No. It can't be that god awful, damned annoying, women who can't just stay_ _ **dead!**_ _Callisto!_

 _At least five demonic creature with horns, scales and bat like wings attack. I knock one in the face before it can grab me. But Mom and Gabriel aren't as lucky. They start falling down._

 _"Mom! Gabriel!", I scream and struggle as I'm taken up. No! Where are they!_

 _"Let me down! I want to go find them! Put me down!", I yell and try to pry them off me. It didn't work. I was carried into this mix between a cave and a temple like rock ledge. It was bigger than it appeared. Is this supposed to be Paradise?_

 _"Wait, the others are trying to get your friends", one white winged angel says. I turn to him angrily._

 _"I want to know where I am, what just happened and why my Mom and Gabriel started falling down into Hell!", I was beyond pissed._

 _"Bella! I thought you went down too!", I turned to see Mom run up and hug me. Yes! She's okay. Wait..._

 _"Where's Gabriel!", Xena looked to a black winged angel who saved her._

 _"Hell. On Earth good and evil fight, the same for up here. Those demons have been trying to claim this place for forever. I am the archangel Michael", he says._

 _"Gabriel is in Hell. That can't happen! How is someone like her possibly in Hell!", that's what I would like to know. Gabriel is pure and has virtues, integrity. She was trying to follow Eli's teachings about love. Foolish, but pure._

 _"We didn't have a choice. But we will try to rescue your friend", Mom and Michael start arguing until they agree. Xena and I are becoming angels, so we can help save Gabriel._

 _Mom goes first, heading through a tunnel. Some time later an angel comes and tells me to go through._

 _It seemed normal. Just some tunnel. Till I reached a split in the path. Immediately, it started raining on the right side. Fire spurted up from the left. Well, if I'm going to Hell I should probably choose fire. It fits._

 _It didn't hurt, weirdly. I came out in full flames though, that was weird. Michael said something about fire of purification. And the pool. Water, I get in, sinking under. I feel oddly at peace again for a couple seconds as I'm under. Then I rise, rise out, above the water. Black wings unfurl on my back._

 _"Bella, archangel", wow. Mom smiles proud, black wings of her own all stretched out._

 _"Just remember, when we reach Hell, you might want to give your light to someone. But you don't need to do that for Gabriel, she'll be okay", we nod and head out._

 _We land in the cavern of demons. Fights break out immediately. Moms preoccupied. Michael heads for Gabriel. That leaves me with Callisto. We pull out our swords._

 _She flies across the room to stab me, I block and side step. Then lunge at her, making us tumble a couple yards. And in just a couple sword clashes I have her pinned._

 _"I hate you! You ruined my life, destroyed my soul, my ability to love and feel! I will hunt you for eternity and not rest till I destroy you!", I stare at Callisto's scaled, fanged, horned and blood died face as she hisses at me. Pure and undying hatred reflects. And she's right. I did this to her. Me. Not mom. She's not the one who didn't save Callisto's family. It was me._

 _"No", I stare at Callisto. Then I reach out with my two fingers to her throat._

 _"Be at peace Callisto", I say before light envelops us. I smile ever so slightly before I give her my light. Before she is blessed. Callisto may have killed my best friend, she may have killed villages and other loved ones, but no one deserves to go through what she did. And it was my fault._ N _obody really gave her a chance to be good like Mom and I._

 _So I give her my light. Mother, Gabriel, forgive me. Forgive Callisto._

 _Hell is... Hell. Damn. But the process is that we switch places, that means I'm supposed to be a full on demon. But I'm fighting it. I look normal and any demon who tries to come close to me gets kicked, punched and stabbed._

 _How can I fight it? I have absolutely no idea._

 _Out of nowhere, demons start flying._

 _"Attack the archangels! Paradise is ours!", dammit. I need to help. But, how?_

 _I got it! I ever so slightly give into the darkness. I cry out from the sudden pain and fall to the ground. Bat like wings unfold as well as horns grow out of the top of my head. At least no scales. And I only feel a little off._

 _I fly up to the battle. Making the horns and wings go away immediately, ignoring the pain, I look around._

 _Fighting everywhere. But I ignore it and find Mom and Gabriel._

 _"Bella!", Mom rushes over and envelope me in hug. Gabriel comes too. All together again, finally._

 _Suddenly, this weird feeling came over me. Then I started to feel dizzy. Falling to the ground with me, I can tell Xena and Gabriel feel it too. Then we black out._

 _I open my eyes. Coldness creeps around._

 _"Their alive!", yells of happiness and joy fill the air. Joxer, Eli and our good Amazon friend hug all of us in relief. I stared in confusion. Huh?_

 _Then I realized, we're alive. Alive.*_


	4. Arthur vs Bella

Today I decided to just explore Camelot. I really had nothing better to do and I needed to get my mind off old memories.

Plus, I'm worried about what the old witch threatened. Few sorcerers are powerful enough to teleport, even with the help of a talisman. This could be extremely dangerous.

As I walked by the knight training grounds I saw some boys throwing daggers at targets. Hmm.

I sensed someone walk up next to me. I ignore it though.

A tall blonde boy, the leader, motioned to a servant.

"Can you move that?", the boy pointed at the target. Then he smirked to his friends. Uh oh. I hate spoiled brats. Really.

"Y-yeah", as the servant started moving the target around before the blonde prat started throwing daggers at it. Making the poor servant duck behind the target as it rolled around.

"Spoiled brat", I mutter angrily. The person next to me, I now recognized as Merlin, moved toward where the target would surely fall over.

He stopped it with his foot and gave off a fake smile to the knights.

"That's enough my friend", I then watched as Merlin proceeded to get arrested. For assaulting Prince Arthur Pendragon. Great. After Arthur's friends leave and he's alone I walk up to him.

"Hey, Pendragon!", I stalk up to him, obviously irritated. He turns with a shocked look on his face.

"What's with you spoiled royal brats and throwing people in jail for nothing?", I snap angrily. Now the Prince looks furious.

"How dare you! You have can't right to talk to me like that!", I roll my eyes.

"I don't care. You just proved to anyone watching that your a annoying brat who can't handle power", I insult the Pendragon further. No one should get away with this. I've never met some one so spoiled and annoying! Well, besides Ares.

"Fine! If you want your friends released so much, then try what he couldn't do!", Arthur smirks. He pulls out two swords from the training equipment. He just made a bad choice.

"Beat me, and that idiot will be free. But he'll be put in the stocks for a hour", Arthur continues. I grab a sword and glare at him. He's so dead.

"Deal", the Prince immediately swings. I parry and twirl around, bringing my sword in a deadly arch. Arthur barely defends, though he is shocked by my obvious skill and experience. I'm not arrogant, but when everyone calls you The Warrior Princess, you gain a little confidence in your skill.

The young Pendragon then try's to swing at my legs, meaning to disable me. I block and kick him in the stomach swiftly, careful not to break any 'honorable' fighting rules. 'All is fair in love and war', is what I think. But oh well.

Arthur doubles over and stumbles back. I wait while he stands up, anger reflecting in his blue orbs. My golden brown eyes show my calm demeanor as the Prince charges in a fit of rage. That would not be good in battle.

I side step, leaving my right foot in his path at the last minute. Arthur tumbles to the ground, loosing his training sword in the process. He crashes into a couple crates of fruit, sending them sprawling. I pick up a stray apple, wipe it off and bite into it as I kick his sword away. Then I point my weapon at Arthur just as he was about to get up.

"I win. Now order your guards to let Merlin out", I put both swords away as Arthur storms off. I smirk to myself while eating my apple. Then I go with a guard to get the Warlock. Yeah, I had guessed by now.

He was lying there, on a blanket in the straw riddled cell. The guard opens the door. My now apple less hand helps a surprised Merlin up.

"How did you get me out?", he asks as we walk out of the jail. I glance at him.

"I beat Arthur at a sword fight. Though you still have to go to the stocks for a hour", Merlin stares at me for a second. Then a huge grin erupts on his face. I inwardly wince. I wish it was that easy for me to smile. Or to smile at all.

"Really!? You beat him? That's fantastic", the corners of my mouth twitch and I send Merlin a bemused glance.

"Yeah. The Prince was beyond furious. You should watch out, he might be out to get you now", Merlin just shrugs and walks to the red clad soldiers to be put in the stocks.

It it wasn't that bad. I got to meet Lady Morgana's maid, Gwen. She's very nice, and I think Merlin likes her. He certainly put up the little show.

But now I need to investigate the death threat on Arthur. He may be a spoiler prat, but he's still innocent. In a sense at least. He's not like me.


	5. Who Knows

"So you're saying Lady Helena had a voodoo doll?", I recap to Merlin. He nods furiously. I sigh and run my right hand through my hair. Oh well. It's a start.

"OK. I'll check it out, tell me if you find anything more", Merlin's shocked face told me he didn't expect me to be so helpful. Annoyance shot through me when he shook his head.

"It's too dangerous", story of my life. I roll my eyes and turn to him.

"I've done much riskier things, alone and when I was much younger. I'll be just fine", I walk away from the surprised warlock. Yeah, well it's true.

* _I slunk around the corner, then froze._

 _"-any of those stupid prisoners better watch out. If Livia finds out who has been sneaking down here, she'll skin them alive", guards pass by my hiding place. I roll my eyes and inwardly scoff._

 _Yeah, likely. I stalk into the dungeons. Gabriel immediately sees me._

 _"Bella! You shouldn't be down here again! How is Xena", she whispers. I smile and tell her Mom is fine. Old Joxer comes and starts going on about how he'll get them out. I personally think the only one to believe that a bit is his son, Vergal. But that's because Joxer's changed all the stories. I'm no damn damsel in distress. Humph._

 _"I'll be back", I smile then leave to get more food for the prisoners._ *

* _Mom had to wait outside since only the purest of heart out of the group can come in. I was surprised to find out that's me. Maybe it's my age._

 _The temple defiantly seems occupied despite the weird security system._

 _Suddenly, three women come from behind the pillars surrounding a unfamiliar shrine._

 _"What do you seek?", they ask in union. I glance warily around. My nine year old self a little to desperate to get what I came for._

 _"The sword", I say simply. They walk closer. The leader comes up to me and takes my hand, inspecting it._

 _"And what would you give to get it? A hand? A foot? Your life", that last one wasn't a question. But I still nod. We needed to free Prometheus from the chains. This was the only thing that could do it._

 _"Such bravery. But do you know the cost of using the sword?", I nod again. Anyone who uses the sword instantly dies. The curse of freeing Prometheus. She then guides me to a hole in the wall. It's about twice the size of my head. About seven feet in is the sword. A chain is attached._

 _"Pull it out", I grab the chain and pull. This thing must weigh a ton. But I'm very strong._

 _Unfortunate, before I've pulled it half a foot the top of the little tunnel reveals a very sharp barricade starting to fall. I wouldn't get the sword if that fell. Dammit!_

 _I start pulling desperately. To my joy it starts coming faster._

 _Fighting against time itself I pull the sword to me. I grab it and jump away just a second before the barricade fell. I think I had a heart attack._

 _"Very brave indeed. You would have sacrificed both your hands", I simply stare at her. This woman is nuts. I shake it off and pull a grin at my victory. I bow respectfully and rush out. God that was tense.*_

I smile at the memory, shake my head and turn a corner. Almost being knocked over by a very irritated Arthur Pendragon.

"Watch it Princeling! No need to get angry", I'm not sure I helped. Because he just glared at me and walked away, hitting my shoulder in the process. Rude.

I head to Lady Helen's bedchamber. Time to work my magic.

As the feast gets ready, I do a bit of snooping. And a bit of trapping. You know, normal stuff.

So far, Lady Helen is actually the mother who lost her son. But the real Lady Helen is definitely dead. Also, I tripped the chandelier at the feast to fall on her when she goes to kill Arthur. I have a feeling her singing has something to do with it.

I wasn't invited though, so I had to fill in Merlin. It's a go. Yay. I need to get out of here. Can't stay in one place long.

When I mentioned this I was met with much denial. Merlin seems to have grown attached. That's never good. So I should just sever all ties. But... I told him if he needed help to contact me.

That wasn't a good idea.

"Stupid", I mutter. Argo snorts. I smile and pat his head.

"Not you buddy. I'm just homesick", that's all. I look back for a moment, just to see Camelot once more. The castle looms over everything else, making it eerily mighty at this time of night. How... odd. I'm not one for sentiment though.

I turn back and kick Argo to action. Time to leave.

* _"Must you leave?", I turn to my grandmother and smile. Mom nods and starts packing food and other supplies. I sigh. My eight year old self still wasn't used to all the quiet and peacefulness yet._

 _Though in my defense, it had only been a week since Mom officially gave up being a war lord. It's been interesting. We went to her home village. Amphipilus. It's wonderful. Plus this nice blonde keeps following us. Mom agreed to bring her along. Since she was running from an arranged marriage in her village. I think her name is Gabriel._

 _"Yes, but we'll be back", I smile and go back Argo. It was time to go._

 _"Where are we going?", Gabriel asked when Mom came out with saddle. I look up. Mom and I had planned it out._

 _"We're heading to Corinth. There's someone we know there", I mount on top of Argo behind Mom. We start on the long road. And I can already tell it'll be interesting. Gabriel has already started talking, she has a hard time stopping._

 _I look back. The fast becoming small village and fields feel like I left something behind. Though what it is, I can't tell. Maybe Mom knows. Maybe it has something to do with leaving Grandmother and my Uncle's grave._

 _But I'm pretty sure I lost something. But what?_

 _Who knows..._ *


	6. Pandora And Serkets

(AN— this is Pandora— Pandora?file=Pandora)

I look over the bustle of the village. After four years Merlin had asked for my help. I glanced back over my letter. It explained what had happened since then.

Morgana's betrayal was a hard blow, I can tell. Especially after Camelot literally just got her back. Now the witch is plotting against the King. Merlin is convinced her and Morgause had enchanted him to make the King go mad. All in all, very dramatic.

And familiar. Things like this sounded just the cases Mom, Gabriel and I used to help. Those were the days.

I shove the memories back as I ride out of Bayard's kingdom. Thank goodness I was close by.

 _*"Can we keep him? Pleeeaaaaasssssseeee?", Gabriel cooed to the little baby boy. My eight year old self grimaced. I'm not fond of babies. Especially if this baby was found by the side of a river crying like a deranged cat. Charlie looked over and grinned._

 _"Yeah Xena, can we keep the little monster?", Charlie quipped, grinning mischievously. And then started the argument between the two girls on how Charlie's behavior was 'rude and condescending'._

 _Mom looked over, a bemused expression that matched my own lighting her face. I grin when the two arguing girls start to fight over names._

 _"Charlie is the perfect name for the monster"_

 _"No! First of all, you call him a monster. Second, Gaberial is a much better name!"_

 _I roll my eyes and keep walking._ *

As I reach Camelot I hear a weird clicking noise. I know that noise... Serkets! Damn giant scorpions.

"Come on boy!", I urge Argo to go into a gallop. We reach a clearing on the woods to be met with a nasty sight. Serkets surrounded the clearing, at least thirty. All set on their chained and already stung victim. Merlin. It must be a enchanted chain. And the venom must hurt like hell.

I quickly dismount and order Argo to scatter. Head to Camelot. I really have the best horse.

Anyway, I draw my chakram, flinging it at the closest Serket.

Ricocheting off that one, it goes around the circle, making the Serkets retreat, before coming back to my waiting hand.

I hook it back on my waist before drawing my sword and running down the small hill to the fallen Merlin.

"Merlin! How long has the venom been inside your system", I examine his back as the half conscience Merlin starts muttering answers and apologies. Why, I don't know.

"Calm down, I'll get you back to Camelot", just then in the dead of night as the Serkets started creeping back, a completely golden dragon comes into view. Claws, fangs, flames and all. As the Serkets die the dragon circles and dives toward us.

At first I'm torn between my instincts to trust the golden dragon and my logic telling me to use my damn sword. Instincts won out.

The dragon swoops, grabbing the chained Merlin in one clawed hand and me in the other. Holding for my dear life I look down. Wow. This is amazing.

The forest seems to stretch on forever. But we're heading to the mountains in the distance. Must be the dragons home. Wow, Merlin has some weird allies.

Ha, look who's talking.

* _"Ahhhh!", Gabriel and Charlie immediately stop fighting. The baby boy was passed to Charlie as Mom, Gabriel and I take off towards the scream. The road came around a bend, and as we reached the other side we saw a terrible sight._

 _A group of villagers, trying to hang a women. I streak forward as Mom stops Gabriel._

 _"Hey! Let her go!", I launch my eight year old self at the leader. The old man definitely didn't expect a sword wielding kid to attack him. I knocked him down, easy. Before my chakram flashed and the women was no longer tied up. Mom scared off the others as Gabriel and I helped get the rope off the women._

 _As soon as she was free, the women hastily grabbed a box halfway in her bag. It had a hand indent and weird symbols on it._

 _"Thank you", the blonde haired women smiled warily. I grinned in return. Charlie caught up. The unabated bay boy was fast asleep._

 _"We should go find some shelter, a storm is coming", my Mom predicted before heading along the path. The women knew a cave so we went with her._

 _"I'm Bella, that's Xena, my mom, she's Gabriel and this is Charlie", I introduced as we walked._

 _"I'm Pandora", the woman said. I know that name! Apparently so did Gabriel._

 _"Like, Pandora's box?", Pandora nodded. Pulling the box closer she answered._

 _"That was my grandmother. Ever since then my family has been the guardians of the box", Gabriel stared at the box._

 _"So that box contains the hope of mankind?", now all but Pandora and Mom stared at the box._

 _"My grandmother kept the box because Hope was still inside. As long as the box doesn't open mankind still has hope. And only I can keep it closed", Pandora sighed. Gabriel frowned._

 _"So that's why you keep it near", Pandora nodded._

 _"Yes, and now I'm cursed to carry this box my whole life"_ *

Merlin groaned as he woke up. I look over and roll my eyes. Then he starts when realizes the humongous golden dragon staring at him. Never mind the armed girl next to him.

"Killagarah, I didn't think you would come", Merlin grins at the golden eyed beast. I smile slightly at his enthusiasm.

"You are a dragonlord Merlin, I couldn't say no if I wanted to", the dragon answers. Merlin looks around and spots me. Grin widening he thanks me for my help. I simply nod in return. I'm not one for dramatics.

Merlin explained his new discoveries before falling back to a well needed sleep.

"What is your name young one?", I look up warily at Killagarah.

"Bella", he makes one of those faces. Like he has confirmed something. Well, the dragon equivalent.

"Do you happen to be related to Xena?", I look up so fast I'm surprised I don't get whiplash.

"She is my mother"

"Then you are the Warrior Princess", I shrug, suddenly feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders again.

"Some call me that", if a dragon could smile, then Killagarah just smiled.

"Then Camelot is in good hands", I look up. And I smile, because the weight isn't so bad anymore.

* _I had been thinking about what Pandora said. What a strange word. Cursed._

 _"Come on, let's see if anyone in the next village recognizes the baby", Mom says, taking me out of my thoughts. We head to nearest town in a slow pace._

 _We reach the village inn. As we sit down after ganging almost all our weapons on the hooks. What? I always keep a dagger handy. Like for situations like this, the innkeeper is staring. Mom gives me a discreet signal. I grab a cup of school and sit next to a torch._

 _"Something wrong with our baby?", Mom asked the nervous bartender._

 _"N-no", Mom sits down._

 _But sure enough, a couple minutes later soldiers burst into the pub. The commander heads over, blocking is from our weapons._

 _"Surrender now", ha likely. I stand up, grab my drink and take a sip. Ew, it tastes rancid. I put the cup down._

 _Suddenly, as fast as lightning I grab the torch and spit the alcohol at flames which in turn makes flames roar at the commander's face. Shock fills him as I grab my dagger and launch myself at him._

 _Knocking him down easily I jump dodge swords as I manage to grab my sword. I draw it and easily beat a soldier before taking all our weapons._

 _With her staff back Gabriel whacks and beats the living daylights out of three soldiers next to Charlie who wields her hatchet fluidly. Mom's sword defends the baby as we battle._

 _Mom beats the commander and the soldiers scatter. I grin at our victory. As the chaos dies down Pandora moans in distress. I turn quickly to her._

 _"Pandora! What's wrong?", Pandora sifts through her bag fearfully before looking up. Horror and dread dominate her face._

 _"The box. They took the box"_ *


	7. King Gregor And King Uther

"Wake up!", I shoot up, dagger in hand and all. Then relax my arms realizing that it was just Merlin. Who is now looking at me weirdly.

"Sorry, instinct", he nods awkwardly as he leads me out of the mountainside cave. Then he grins and turns to me.

"Ever ridden a dragon before?", not exactly. I shake my head. At least not properly.

We head to Killagarah. Oh, this'll be good.

This is sooooooooooooooooo great! The wind beats at us as we hang onto Killagarah. Merlin has spread his arms out like their his wings. My arms are around his waist as I grin out at the landscape. This is so beautiful.

"This is amazing!", I yell. And for a moment, we both forget the weight of the world. And all its sorrows. Just for a moment I don't remember my past. And I loved it.

* _Gabriel sneaks back into the barn._

 _"I've got the milk and cheese", she rushes over to Charlie, Pandora and the baby boy. They adore the little baby._

 _I glance at Mom before rolling my eyes. Mom smiles as we sharpen our swords. Then she stands up._

 _"Ok, I'm going to talk to King Gregor", Mom states._

 _"His commander, Nemo's might be there. I'm going too", Mom shakes her head at my answer._

 _"I wasn't asking", I state as Mom turned to leave. Mom stares at me before smiling._

 _"Alright, let's go", we head out. To the inn. As enter we see Nemos and Gregor are already there. I stand back as mom talks. I'm pretty much a security measure as I like to think. Not that Mom really needs it._

 _In the end, we can't trade. But Gregor won't open the box. On the terrible side, the Pandora's box will open by itself in under twelve hours._

 _When we get back we discuss the situation._

 _"King Gregor is after the baby because it was said by an oracle that the baby would assume the throne", Mom explains._

 _"Maybe he's like Nemo's, just a better actor?", Charlie asked._

 _"He's a good man", Mom says, but her face gives away her uncertainly and confusion._

 _"Then why is he after the baby?"_ *

"Hurry", Merlin hisses as we rush through Camelot. We sneak to the familiar physicians chamber and wake up Gaius.

"Merlin! Where have you been? Bella, it's good to see you", the physician smiles at me as he puts on a jacket.

Then we head to the King's chambers.

"There's a mandrake root, that's what's been making him go crazy. Uther has been enchanted by Morgana", Merlin explains. As we enter the chamber I stop.

It's chaos. And the once intimidating King is huddled under the window, staring at the room like a madman. It reminds me of certain things, but I choose to ignore them.

Merlin rushes over to the bed and rips a black gooey voodoo doll looking thing out, before throwing it in the fire. A shrill scream fills the room before dying down. And whatever vision was plaguing The King had disappeared. But he was still not well.

We split up, me going to rest.

while Merlin goes to Arthur and Gaius takes care of Uther.

Merlin let me sleep in, bastard.

But he informed me that we are under siege by Cenred. Perfect.

Yet, Arthur made the the right choice.

"For the love of Camelot!", the knights and I take off towards the battle, swords a ready.

I ran into the siege. Hey, kinda like at Troy. But let's win.

* _Mom went on a mission to test her theory. Well less a theory, more a risky idea that could get us all killed. Our kind of plan._

 _Pandora, Gabriel, Charlie and I are waiting for Mom to enunciate the signal. There!_

 _Smoke rise out of a stray window. Perfect. I head over. A makeshift rope discreetly drops. I expertly climb. In a matter of minutes I'm stealthily climbing through some random lords chamber. My servant wear conceals my foreignness and my age smoothly._

 _I slink through the hallway as the Main Hall sounds with celebration. I can't even remember the occasion. Then I spot it. The King's room._

 _Unlocked, Moms already here. I smirk and quietly walk in. I turn to see King Gregor talking to Mom._

 _They stood next to a cradle with the baby inside. No Nemo's, perfect._

 _"And I'm sorry", Mom states as I sneak up. The pummel of my sword hits the Kings head as I knock him out. Mom quickly grabs the baby and ties another makeshift rope to us as we hear soldiers trying to break down the door. Nemo's called them._

 _I grab the box on the table nearby and jump out the window, stopping seven feet above the ground. Easily cutting the rope and landing on my feet I run to go find Pandora. The box is about to open! Soldiers start swarming the streets._

 _I won't make it!_ *

The battle raged on. Arthur dragged an injured Uther to the medical wing as Cenred's army took the Lower Town. I race over to find Merlin. Something needs to be done. Then I freeze. What am I doing? I turn around and charge at the army head on. I'm the daughter of Xena the Warrior Princess and Ares, the God of War. This is where I'm at my best. Why the hell should I retreat?

I beat soldier after soldier, single handedly defending the Lower Town.

After a while, knights and soldiers of Camelot come charging back down, pushing the foreign army past their limit. Cenred called a retreat.

Camelot had won the siege.

* _"Bella!", Mom catches up to me as we race through the city. Till we reach the site where Gabriel, Pandora and Charlie are._

 _At least thirty soldier charge us from all sides. But Mom and I meet them expertly._

 _Two problems, Mom is holding a baby. Second, I'm holding a ticking time bomb. Almost literally._

 _So, Mom throws the baby. Damn throws the baby. Was she like this with me?_

 _But luck was on our side because Gabriel caught him. Then started the throw baby battle as they switched off. Poor baby._

 _Unfortunately, I couldn't get close to Pandora. But as Mom beat Nemos and killed him I felt the box tick. I looked down horror as the hand key indent turned towards the twelfth hour. Oh no._

 _"Pandora!", I run like I have never run over to the blonde. Time seems to slow as Pandora reaches out just as the hand was turning on the hour. Then she twisted it to the starting position. We all breath in the breath we didn't know we were holding._

 _"Thank the gods that's over"_ *

I'm packing to leave. But before I can finish sharpening my sword Arthur Pendragon walked in. He looked uncomfortable.

"I just wanted to say... Thank you for your help in the battle. It takes great bravery to fight", he sounds very strained and he's avoiding looking at me. I don't see what Gwen sees. But I half smile anyway at his half baked apology that hides a insult.

"Thanks. Now how hard was that to say?", I ask honestly. Arthur pauses, before bursting out laughing. I wait for him to regain his Princeling attitude.

"I'm serious. I'm sorry I miss judged you before. If you ever need help, send for Camelot"

"Likewise", we shake hands and I lead Argo out. Well, I got a new friend I guess. Can't tell if that's good or bad.

As I leave the citadel, a certain bumbling servant rushes over to me.

"Do you really have to go? There is room in the castle, I'm sure Uther and Arthur will let you-", I hold up my gloved hand to cut off Merlin.

"Enough. I know you won't understand, but I can't settle anywhere right now. Maybe in the future, but not now", he gives in. But then he shocks me. Merlin hugs me for two seconds before I hug him back. We break apart. I smile at him and mount Argo. He grins at me. The hidden message clear.

See you soon.

"Goodbye Bella"

"Goodbye Merlin"

* _All was right in the world. Pandora is the new Queen, and the baby will be the prince. See, the King lost his wife and unborn child. But the baby we found would become his heir, so he would assume the throne next. Not by force like Nemo's assumed._

 _Now everything was falling into place._

 _We entered the treasure room. Mom and Gabriel talked while I looked around aimlessly. Then we heard a crash. We jumped to see Charlie next to the box, wide open. But... It was empty._

 _"It's empty", Gabriel voiced my thoughts._

 _"Pandora has been carrying around a empty box all these years", Charlie says. I frown._

 _"I guess mankind already had hope", Mom says and closes the box._

 _"But it's best not to tell Pandora", we nod and leave._

 _As we started to exit the city the new Queen came up with the King holding the baby._

 _"Please, let us thank you", King Gregor says. Pandora nods and looks at us happily. She's not cursed anymore._

 _"Just one thing"_

 _"Yes, of course", Mom looks at me and nods. I grin and turn to the couple._

 _"Name him Gabriel Charlie"_


End file.
